Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Iraq snapshot

Wednesday, January 29, 2014. Chaos and violence continue, at least 99 reported dead or wounded from Iraqi violence, the weapons sales Barack wants to make to tyrant Nouri al-Maliki mean US boots on the ground in Iraq, Barack's State of the Union lies get called out, Nouri rebukes Barack, NSA whistle-blower Ed Snowden is nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, KBR's in trouble again, and more.

Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009. For approximately one month and one week as US president. In the time since, he has become commander of The Drone War. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism estimates that The Drone War has killed as many as 3,646 people in Pakistan (200 of those children) and 423 people in Yemen (6 of those children).

The Nobel Peace Prize Committee gave an award to a War Hawk who is over illegal spying on the entire world. They can right that wrong this year by giving the award to Ed. On the illegal spying, Senator Ron Wyden's office noted these remarks Wyden made today during the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing:

The men and women of America’s intelligence
agencies are overwhelmingly dedicated professionals and they deserve to
have leadership that is trusted by the American people. Unfortunately,
that trust has been seriously undermined by senior officials’ reckless
reliance on secret interpretations of the law and battered by years of
misleading and deceptive statements that senior officials made to the
American people. These statements did not protect sources and methods
that were useful in fighting terror. Instead they hid bad policy choices
and violations of the liberties of the American people. For
example, the director of the NSA said publicly that the NSA doesn’t
hold data on U.S. citizens. That was obviously untrue. Justice
Department officials testified that section 215 of the Patriot Act is
analogous to grand jury subpoena authority. And that deceptive statement
was made on multiple occasions. Officials also suggested that the NSA
doesn’t have the authority to read Americans’ emails without a warrant
but the FISA court opinions declassified last August showed that wasn’t
true either.

Barack Obama, who has presided over the sharpest increases in economic
inequality in U.S. history, adopts the persona of public advocate,
reciting wrongs inflicted by unseen and unknown forces that have
“deepened” the gap between the rich and the rest of us and “stalled”
upward mobility. Having spent half a decade stuffing tens of trillions
of dollars into the accounts of an ever shrinking gaggle of financial
capitalists, Obama declares this to be “a year of action” in the
opposite direction. “Believe it.” And if you do believe it, then crown
him the Most Effective Liar of the young century.Lies of omission are even more despicable than the overt variety,
because they hide. The potentially most devastating Obama contribution
to economic inequality is being crafted in secret by hundreds of
corporate lobbyists and lawyers and their revolving-door counterparts in
government. The Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal, described
as “NAFTA on steroids,” would accelerate the global Race to the Bottom
that has made a wasteland of American manufacturing, plunging the
working class into levels of poverty and insecurity without parallel in
most people’s lifetimes, and totally eviscerating the meager gains of
three generations of African Americans.

Also providing realities about Barack's economy, Joseph Kishore (WSWS) offered:Obama made as brief a reference as possible to the fact that at the
end of last year, due to the actions of Democrats and Republicans, 1.6
million people were cut off of extended unemployment benefits. At the
same time, he called for “reforming unemployment insurance so that it’s
more effective in today’s economy,” which could only mean introducing
greater restrictions on eligibility.The president was also silent
on the Democrats and Republicans having just agreed to slash $8.7
billion from food stamps, only the second cut in the program since it
was founded (the first coming just a few months ago). He touted a
right-wing immigration reform and his health care overhaul, an opening
shot against all the social programs introduced in the 1930s and 1960s.The
headline proposal from Obama, intended as a sop to the trade unions and
the administration’s liberal and pseudo-left supporters, was an
executive order to require federal contractors to pay a minimum wage of
$10.10. This requirement will only apply to new or renewed contracts,
not existing ones.In the run-up to the speech, there was a
concerted effort in the media to paint a picture of partisan gridlock,
which Obama was proposing to overcome through executive actions. Given
that Obama’s actual proposals amount to nothing, and that the parties
are agreed on fundamentals, Obama’s repeated insistence that “I’m going
to do” what is required has the distinct and ominous odor of a
presidential dictatorship.It is notable that even though it is an
election year, Obama made no call for voters to elect individuals
pledged to implement his proposals. Rather the speech was an assertion,
from an individual who more than any other has presided over the
shredding of large sections of the Constitution, that the president has
the power to act regardless of opposition. The target of these actions
is the working class.There was almost no mention of the vast
police-state spying apparatus that has been revealed over the past year.
The president sits on top of a military-intelligence complex that
monitors the communications of virtually the entire planet. The day
before Obama’s remarks, the latest information from Edward Snowden
revealed that the US and its UK partners collect data from cell phone
applications in order to determine the “political alignments” of
millions of users worldwide.

Overall health care outcomes are no better, with the United States ranking at only 37 out of 191
countries. Cuba, which few Americans regard in any positive way, ranks
just two steps behind at 39. Costa Ricans, Moroccans, Colombians, and
Saudis all have access to better medical care. Most of the members of
Congress sitting through the State of the Union address often brag that
their constituents have the best health care in the world when those
words are obvious lies.

If America doesn’t take care of its children and can’t provide the
best health care for anyone, does it lead in anything? It does in fact
but none of these benchmarks are good for human beings. The United
States still has the shameful distinction of incarcerating both a
greater percentage of its population and the largest number of people
than any other country on earth. The dictators we are taught to disdain
and the leaders who are seen as enemies all keep fewer people in jail.

Consider that the Obama administration boasted when the president
commuted the sentences of eight people who languished in prison under
the old draconian crack cocaine laws. That is good news for those eight
persons, but the Obama Justice Department also went to court to oppose efforts to remedy the sentences of 5,000 other people, formally making the case against giving them the chance to be re-sentenced.

The only other trend by which the United States bests every other
nation is the amount spent on the military. The combined defense
expenditures of the rest of the world total less than our military
budget. Violence is the only arena in which America leads the way.

Bruce A. Dixon (Black Agenda Report) also provides some facts Barack left out:Barack Obama campaigned in 2007 and 2008 saying he would pass
legislation raising the minimum wage and making it easier to organize
unions so people could stand up for their own rights in the workplace.
The president apparently lied. Once in office with a thumping majority
in both houses of Congress the president promptly froze the wages of
federal workers, and made no move to protect union organizing or to
raise the minimum wage. Four and five years later, with the House of
Representatives safely under Republican control, the president has begun
to make noises about how “America deserves a raise” and has finally
declared that federal contract workers will soon have to be paid a
minimum of $10.10 per hour.Although Barack Obama's career, and those of the entire black
political class are founded on the notion that they and the Democratic
party somehow “represent” the aspirations and political power of African
Americans, the policy concerns of black America were nowhere to be
found in last night's state of the union. The speech contained no
mention of the persistent gap between black and white unemployment, or
the widening gaps between black and white wealth, and reaffirmed his
commitment to “Race To The Top” an initiative to privatize public
education in poorer communities across the country.

And of course, no cluster of issues impact black America more
savagely and disproportionately than police practices, the drug war and
the prison state. African Americans are one eighth the US population,
but more than 40% of its prisons and jails. Together with Latinos, who
are another eighth and make up nearly 30% of US prisoners, people of
color are a quarter of the US population and more than 70% of the locked
down. No cluster of issues would benefit more from a few presidential
initiatives and well placed strokes of the pen than police practices,
the drug war and the prison state.

But possibly the strongest rebuke to Barack today came from outside the US. Xinhua reports that the chief thug in and prime minister of Iraq, Nouri al-Maliki, declared today, "The international community must take the responsibility of supporting
us and helping all those who stand against terrorism. Allowing weapons
to reach terrorist organizations and extremists in Syria means
supporting terrorism in Iraq." For those who need a translation, he's saying Barack's arming of the Syrian 'rebels' is providing weapons to rebels in Iraq. He's calling out Barack's support of the Syrian 'rebels.' And yet Barack would do anything -- and does do anything -- for Nouri.

No doubt Stephanie Mencimer is working on an 'expose' to again prove KBR's innocence which, of course, cheap Amanda Marcotte will rush to prop up. (The two pieces of trash attacked rape victim Jamie Leigh Jones. She was gang-raped -- like many women, she couldn't convince a court. That's not uncommon in rape cases. Nor is it uncommon for attacks on female victims to come from women who wish they were men and court the patriarchy like John Edwards 'booster' Marcotte and like trash Stephie Mencimer.)

From the vile to the simply stupid American. John W. Thomas had a column at the Coloradoan which includes this passage many will agree with:Not having learned from Vietnam, along came Sept. 11 and Iraq. The
Bush-Cheney administration either knew or should have known there were
no weapons of mass destruction -- that was the false premise for sending
troops to Iraq. We were told that we had to eliminate al-Qaida in Iraq.
We then found out that until we invaded Iraq, al-Qaida was not in Iraq,
at which point they came to Iraq in droves and are now there. Al-Qaida -- the ones who perpetrated 9/11 -- were definitely based in Afghanistan,
and if we had not taken our eye off the ball there (e.g., killing bin
Laden) by invading Iraq, we might have gotten out of Afghanistan a whole
lot sooner.

And most Americans would probably also agree with him that US forces should not be in Iraq (even those which currently are). But if that's your opinion -- and it is mine -- it's very stupid of you not to object to the US government -- to Barack -- arming Nouri al-Maliki, prime minister and chief thug of Iraq, with more weapons to use against the Iraqi people. In fact, if you can't object to that army then I guess you are what is ridiculed as a non-interventionist -- an extreme non-interventionist -- because you'll even support the arming of a despot, a tyrant, in order to avoid more US troops going into Iraq.

It doesn't have to be either or. But those calling for no (more) US troops being sent to Iraq (that would include me) should also be calling for no arms for Nouri. Otherwise, they express no real concerns about the Iraq people.

The Apache helicopter deal went through, despite the Leahy Amendment, why? Your-Story argues, "One important aspect to consider is the intricate oil infrastructure
that should definitely be protected, due to massive energy potential it
carries." Yet again, it's all about oil.

And so we move back to the topic of vile Americans: Michael O'Hanlon. The Brookings Institution guy is very sensitive and doesn't like being called names. But what do call someone -- at a worksafe site -- who feels civilian deaths are okay? I think calling O'Hanlon merely "vile" is showing remarkable restraint on my part. The Voice of Russia speaks with O'Hanlon about the 24 Apache helicopters Barack is supplying Iraq with:

[Voice of Russia:] How high is the risk of American weapons and technology
causing civilian deaths among Iraqis? Especially considering the fact
that it would be inexperienced newly trained Iraqi pilots flying the
helicopters.

[Michael O'Hanlon:] Well, I certainly think that risk is
valid, but I also don’t want to overstate my concern. I mean Iraq is
pretty violent even without Apache helicopters being part of the problem
and I am not sure they would make it any worse. There is a chance they
could make it better. A combination of the Apache helicopters and maybe a
better strategy by Prime Minister Malaki could perhaps turn things
around. I am not predicting a big success, but it could have partial
improvement. And even if an Apache or two made an arial shot and
tragically killed civilians, it still might have an overall net effect
that was positive for the conflict. So I am not really against the
Apache sale, I am just lowering the expectation on how much a difference
it will make.

He's lowering his expectations.

Because he couldn't lower his ethics -- he's already gone as low as he can there.

He has no ethical standing and should be rejected by all rational players. He has just stated that the "risk is valid" for civilian deaths by supplying Nouri with Apache helicopters but he's okay with "tragically killed civilians" because it "might have an overall net effect." Might.

Civilian deaths will be War Crimes.

He disgraces himself and everyone else at Brookings with those comments.

I have said 5,000 times that I regret it. It was a stupid statement. I
never should have made it and if everybody else that has ever made a
statement they regret, would stand up, there would be a lot of people
standing. I have many, many times said it and I wish that people would
report that I have said it. I wrote it in my book that it was a stupid
statement.

She cannot live it down.

If that's just due to her gender will quickly see. If Michael O'Hanlon's remarks are not strung around his ankle like a ball and chain for the next seventeen years, then the attacks on Mad Maddie were based on gender. Mad Maddie voiced support for sanctions that led to deaths, Mad Mikey voiced support for civilians being killed instantly by attack helicopters.

UK's The Platform notes:In the past few weeks, the U.S. administration has stepped up its
delivery of surveillance drones and missiles to Iraq in response to the
Fallujah stand-off, and is one rebellious senator short of selling Iraq dozens of Apache helicopters.U.S. foreign policy is at risk of propping up a bad leader and
irresponsible government because of an irrational fear that al-Qaeda
could take over Iraq.

Al-Maliki’s administration is continuously emboldened by U.S. funding as Saddam Hussein once was.

That "rebellious senator" was Senator Robert Menendez who joined with the rest to supply tyrant Nouri with weapons to use against the Iraqi people. World Tribune reports, "Congress has until Feb. 10 to try to block the proposed sale, which included intensive lobbying by Boeing. Officials said the program would return hundreds of U.S. military personnel for a training program in Iraq." The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency posted two notices this week. First:

Media/Public Contact:

Lorna Jons (703) 604-6618

Transmittal No:

13-29

WASHINGTON,
Jan 27, 2014-The Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress
today of a possible Foreign Military Sale to Iraq for support for APACHE
lease and associated equipment, parts, training and logistical support
for an estimated cost of $1.37 billion.The Government of Iraq has requested a possible sale of 8 AN/AAR-57
Common Missile Warning System, 3 T-700-GE-701D engines, 3 AN/ASQ-170
Modernized Target Acquisition and Designation Sight (MTADS), 3 AN/AAQ-11
Modernized Pilot Night Vision Sensors (PNVS), 152 AGM-114 K-A HELLFIRE
Missiles, 14 HELLFIRE M299 Launchers, 6 AN/APR-39A(V)4 Radar Warning
Systems with training Universal Data Modems (UDM), 2 Embedded Global
Positioning System Inertial Navigation System (EGI), 6 AN/AVR-2A/B Laser
Warning Detectors, 12 M261 2.75 inch Rocket Launchers, M206 Infrared
Countermeasure flares, M211 and M212 Advanced Infrared Countermeasure
Munitions (AIRCM) flares, Internal Auxiliary Fuel Systems (IAFS),
Aviator’s Night Vision Goggles, Aviation Mission Planning System,
training ammunition, helmets, transportation, spare and repair parts,
support equipment, publications and technical data, personnel training
and training equipment, site surveys, U.S. Government and contractor
technical assistance, and other related elements of program and
logistics support. The estimated cost is $1.37 billion.The proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national
security of the United States by helping to improve the security of a
strategic partner. This proposed sale directly supports the Iraq
government and serves the interests of the Iraqi people and the United
States.The proposed sale supports the strategic interests of the United
States by providing Iraq with a critical capability to protect itself
from terrorist and conventional threats. This will allow Iraqi Security
Forces to begin training on the operation and maintenance of six leased
U.S. APACHE helicopters in preparation of their receipt of new-build
aircraft. This proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region.The principal contractors will be The Boeing Company in Mesa,
Arizona, Lockheed Martin Corporation in Orlando, Florida, General
Electric Company in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Robertson Fuel Systems, LLC,
Tempe, Arizona. There are no known offset agreements proposed in
connection with this potential sale.Implementation of this proposed sale will require the assignment of 1
U.S. Government and 67 contractor representatives to travel to Iraq on
an as-needed basis provide support and technical reviews.There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale.This notice of a potential sale is required by law and does not mean the sale has been concluded.-30-

WASHINGTON,
Jan 27, 2014-The Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress
today of a possible Foreign Military Sale to Iraq for AH-64E APACHE
LONGBOW Attack Helicopters and associated equipment, parts, training
and logistical support for an estimated cost of $4.8 billion.The Government of Iraq has requested a possible sale of 24 AH-64E
APACHE LONGBOW Attack Helicopters, 56 T700-GE-701D Engines, 27
AN/ASQ-170 Modernized Target Acquisition and Designation Sight, 27
AN/AAR-11 Modernized Pilot Night Vision Sensors, 12 AN/APG-78 Fire
Control Radars with Radar Electronics Unit (LONGBOW component), 28
AN/AAR-57(V)7 Common Missile Warning Systems, 28 AN/AVR-2B Laser
Detecting Sets, 28 AN/APR-39A(V)4 or APR-39C(V)2 Radar Signal Detecting
Sets, 28 AN/ALQ-136A(V)5 Radar Jammers, 52 AN/AVS-6, 90 Apache Aviator
Integrated Helmets, 60 HELLFIRE Missile Launchers, and 480 AGM-114R
HELLFIRE Missiles. Also included are AN/APR-48 Modernized Radar
Frequency Interferometers, AN/APX-117 Identification Friend-or-Foe
Transponders, Embedded Global Positioning Systems with Inertial
Navigation with Multi Mode Receiver, MXF-4027 UHF/VHF Radios, 30mm
Automatic Chain Guns, Aircraft Ground Power Units, 2.75 in Hydra
Rockets, 30mm rounds, M211 and M212 Advanced Infrared Countermeasure
Munitions flares, spare and repair parts, support equipment,
publications and technical data, personnel training and training
equipment, site surveys, U.S. government and contractor engineering,
technical, and logistics support services, design and construction, and
other related elements of logistics support. The estimated cost is $4.8
billion.This proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national
security of the United States by helping to improve the security of a
strategic partner. This proposed sale directly supports the Iraq
government and serves the interests of the Iraqi people and the United
States. This proposed sale supports the strategic interests of the United
States by providing Iraq with a critical capability to protect itself
from terrorist and conventional threats, to enhance the protection of
key oil infrastructure and platforms, and to reinforce Iraqi
sovereignty. This proposed sale of AH-64E APACHE helicopters will
support Iraq’s efforts to establish a fleet of multi-mission attack
helicopters capable of meeting its requirements for close air support,
armed reconnaissance and anti-tank warfare missions.The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region.The prime contractors will be The Boeing Company in Mesa, Arizona;
Lockheed Martin Corporation in Orlando, Florida; General Electric
Company in Cincinnati, Ohio; Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Sensors
in Owego, New York; Longbow Limited Liability Corporation in Orlando,
Florida; and Raytheon Corporation in Tucson, Arizona. There are no
known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale.Implementation of this proposed sale will require the assignment of
three U.S. Government and two hundred contractor representatives to Iraq
to support delivery of the Apache helicopters and provide support and
equipment familiarization. In addition, Iraq has expressed an interest
in a Technical Assistance Fielding Team for in-country pilot and
maintenance training. To support the requirement a team of 12 personnel
(one military team leader and 11 contractors) would be deployed to Iraq
for approximately three years. Also, this program will require multiple
trips involving U.S. Government and contractor personnel to participate
in program and technical reviews, training and installation.There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale.This notice of a potential sale is required by law and does not mean the sale has been concluded.-30-

Did you catch it? From the first statement: "Implementation of this proposed sale will require the assignment of 1
U.S. Government and 67 contractor representatives to travel to Iraq on
an as-needed basis provide support and technical reviews." From the second statement: "Implementation of this proposed sale will require the assignment of
three U.S. Government and two hundred contractor representatives to Iraq
to support delivery of the Apache helicopters and provide support and
equipment familiarization. In addition, Iraq has expressed an interest
in a Technical Assistance Fielding Team for in-country pilot and
maintenance training. To support the requirement a team of 12 personnel
(one military team leader and 11 contractors) would be deployed to Iraq
for approximately three years. Also, this program will require multiple
trips involving U.S. Government and contractor personnel to participate
in program and technical reviews, training and installation."

Again -- as we said earlier when talking about John W. Thomas' column -- you can't draw a line between the two. If you don't want more US troops sent into Iraq then you don't favor sending attack helicopters to Nouri al-Maliki.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ultimately bears responsibility
for the situation at hand, namely because of his failure to ensure that
his government was inclusive for all Iraqi citizens.The day after the last U.S. soldier left Iraq, al-Maliki, a Shia,
sent his security forces to arrest one of his vice presidents, Tariq
al-Hashemi, a Sunni, accusing him of running a death squad and
assassinating police officers and public officials. Al-Hashemi escaped
but was convicted in absentia and sentenced to death. Al-Maliki then
used the very institutions that the U.S. spent millions of dollars to
develop, the courts, police, and Iraqi army, to persecute his political
rivals and oppress the Sunnis in Anbar. The government of Iraq’s
heavy-handed persecution of their political rivals and two year
oppression of Sunnis have given al-Qaeda in Iraq an opportunity to gain a
foothold, make a comeback, and provided potent propaganda in their
quest to set up a new Islamic state in the territory of Anbar and
eastern Syria.

It is truly a travesty that al-Maliki gave away the opportunity
presented him by the U.S. At the aforementioned cost to the U.S., by
2011 violence had fallen to a point where it was possible for the
government of Iraq to expand on hard-fought gains and build another
rule-of-law based democracy in the Middle East. But al-Maliki
squandered that option by governing using the criteria of “what’s best
for me“ rather than “what’s best for Iraq.”

How did he squander it? In part by ignoring the Constitution which required a full Cabinet to be formed in by December 2010 after he was named prime minister-designate in November 2010. Per the Constitution, the prime minister-designate does not become prime minister until he names a Cabinet. Because Nouri's State of Law lost the 2010 parliamentary elections to Ayad Allawi's Iraqiya, the White House brokered a legal contract (The Erbil Agreement) to give Nouri a second term and that contract that circumvented the Iraqi Constitution apparently circumvented the Constitutional issue of forming the Cabinet. Back in July, 2012, Mohammed Tawfeeq (CNN) observed,
"Shiite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has struggled to forge a lasting
power-sharing agreement and has yet to fill key Cabinet positions,
including the ministers of defense, interior and national security,
while his backers have also shown signs of wobbling support."

That was true then and it's still true.

You think maybe those three security posts being left vacant for years might also explain the increase in violence?

More to the point, Nouri wants a third term. Can you think of any leader who is more of a failure than one who goes their entire term without having people to head the security ministries? And this as violence increases?

Today, there were at least 41 reported deaths and 58 reported injured.

AFP offers, "Security forces have been locked in deadly battles in Ramadi, where
militants hold several neighborhoods, and have carried out operations in
rural areas of Anbar province. Anti-government fighters also hold all of Fallujah, right on Baghdad’s doorstep." Reuters quotes Iraq's Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi stating, "I'm not optimistic about the future . . .. I think this spark in Anbar
will spread to other provinces. Al-Maliki is targeting Arab Sunnis (in Iraq) in different provinces,
with the use of army forces, or handing them death sentences in a way
that has never been seen before in Iraq's modern history, and therefore
it’s the right of these individuals to defend themselves in every way
possible." Al Mada adds that Iraq's Speaker of Parliament Osama al-Nujaifi spoke with US CENTCOM commander General Lloyd Austin today and that Austin agreed there was no military solution to the Anbar Crisis. So when will Barack, rebuked by Nouri on the world stage today, take the time to tell Nouri his assault on Anbar Province needs to stop?

About Me

We do not open attachments. Stop e-mailing them. Threats and abusive e-mail are not covered by any privacy rule. This isn't to the reporters at a certain paper (keep 'em coming, they are funny). This is for the likes of failed comics who think they can threaten via e-mails and then whine, "E-mails are supposed to be private." E-mail threats will be turned over to the FBI and they will be noted here with the names and anything I feel like quoting.
This also applies to anyone writing to complain about a friend of mine. That's not why the public account exists.